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Hangar construction company selected

Port commissioners held special meeting to authorize award for Scappoose Industrial Airpark project

Longview, Washington-based JH Kelly LLC will construct an airplane hangar building at the Scappoose Industrial Airpark after Port of Columbia County commissioners approved an award for the construction at a special meeting held on June 25.

The $3.25 million contract is slightly more expensive than prior estimates, which came in at $3.12 million. The construction may end up under budget if the port pursues cost-saving options proposed by JH Kelly.

The port received five proposals for the construction. JH Kelly had the lowest base bid price by almost $600,000. Three of the proposals were more than $1 million above JH Kelly's price.

"The range in cost was big, and all bidders were above our engineer's estimate for the project, perhaps reflecting the busy and challenging area market and escalating building costs at all levels," Craig Allison, the port's property and operations manager, wrote in a staff report to commissioners.

The selected company had the shortest timeline, with the project starting July 1 and finishing by March 3, 2020.

The construction will be funded in part by a $2.5 million loan from Business Oregon.

The hangar construction is part of the port's agreement with Devinaire. The charter flight company currently operates a hangar in Hillsboro but plans to relocate to Scappoose once the hangar is constructed. Devinaire's monthly rent will cover the loan payments.

In 2018, because of high construction costs, the port lost deals with Devinaire and another company that wanted to build aircraft hangers. Devinaire had halted plans to develop on port property after learning about the cost of required fire suppression systems, Allison said in May 2018.

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